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Update 6/28/05

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June 28, 2005

 

The “FOIA Impact Statement” bill recently introduced by Sens. Cornyn and Leahy moved quickly through the Senate. It was introduced June 7, cleared committee June 9 and placed on the consent calendar and approved unanimously last Friday. It was sent over to the House and sent to the Government Reform Committee, which is handling other FOIA legislation. The bill requires that new legislation explicitly identify any exemption from the Freedom of Information Act. The senators decided to pull the impact statement (Section 8) from the OPEN Government Act they had filed earlier in an effort to get some FOIA legislation moving this session. Sen. Cornyn is trying to get the House to take action this week. The Sunshine in Government Initiative has let House committee staff know we consider the bill to be a positive first step.

The Reporter’s Shield bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Pence in the House and Sen. Richard Lugar in the Senate continues to pick up sponsors, but there are no indications of quick movement despite the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the Miller-Cooper cases. The Justice Department reportedly wants less than the absolute privilege the bill would provide, and is seeking special consideration in national security cases, an element it argues makes any federal shield different than state law. Media attorneys have been negotiating for language that maintains the strongest possible privilege while recognizing the security issue in limited circumstances. They are also working on modifying the language in the Pence-Lugar bill so that the protection is broadened from traditional media to include internet and freelance journalists.

 

APME held the first of its FOI Roundtables in Dayton in May and will hold the second in Wilmington in mid-July. The goal is to get stakeholders – the media, office holders, citizens, advocacy groups – talking with each other about open government issues in an effort to both resolve differences and provide a discussion that can help educate readers.

I’ve attached a copy of a report from Rosalie Stemer, a newsroom coach who is working with APME on the project.

 

There are two new Internet collections of Congressional Research Reports – one the result of an American Libraries Association Grant, the other the work of the Center for Democracy and Technology. The CRS reports are concise, well researched briefings for Congress on contemporary issues but they are not generally released. Here are the URLs.

University of North Texas Libraries: http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/

Center for Democracy and Technology: http://www.opencrs.com/

 

Pete Weitzel